The first paper that I wrote immediately after retirement in 1994 was on the subject of Executive Orders and their Disobedience covering the entire period of my service both executive and in the judiciary. Only one newspaper published it. I found no response from any quarter. I considered that paper to be a clear indicator of our sliding lower and lower in “value” graph. I decided never to write any more voluntarily on the subject. Then one of my esteemed colleagues while abandoning the legal profession of said to me that the British while leaving the country had mentioned that they were leaving institutions in the country of which the judiciary will last forever unless it destroyed itself. He recorded that indeed that stage had come. I rose from a stupor as if I am commanded to make one effort more. I am presenting that paper as a supplement to this.
Arrival in Rajanpur
The “steamer ship” which we used for crossing River Indus had all the features of asylum seekers’ boat, except that the ship was rather big. In the ship there happened to be two officers. One was me, the other a Police Services of Pakistan (PSP) officer of the rank of Additional Superintend of Police (ASP). Both thought and felt that they were going to a punishment station. It is said companions of distress fall in the second category, developing a long-lasting friendship, sharing of confidential information, help, and support to each other. The first category I am not concerned with. They know each other well.
Everyone had assured me that Rajanpur was not that bad a station, except that it was not a family station and the good part is not many superior officers come there to inspect or disturb. When I landed in my allocated house I had many surprises. First, the compound of the house was so big that I never counted the mango trees in it which assured the resident of Rs. 5000 a year against the monthly rent of Rs. 30 for the house. Secondly, on a portion of the land, there was a tenant who was supposed to give one-third of the produce to the resident. In the handing over register, I found recorded each year that the tenant pleaded that he could raise nothing so there was nothing to share. I followed and did not care to know what and where that land was which he was supposed to cultivate and share the produce. Third, the residence had a prime location. Across the road was a bigger orchard of mango trees known as Company Bagh. There was a tube well in it, a tank for swimming and enjoying mangos. In a corner was a small club. About two furlongs away on the left side was an orchard of 40 plants of Halawi dates, on the right side two furlongs away an orchard of Basrawi dates, both 3 years old requiring another 3 years to fruit. All these were my duty to look after. There were ten to fifteen gardeners for ground assistance. What was a greater surprise was that I was also to work as Superintendent Jail of a sub-jail ready to accommodate about 80 prisoners? Another surprise was that I was to work like a typical landlord of one hundred thousand acres of farmland with about two thousand families settled on it. Another ten thousand acres of riverine land submerged in river water in summer, cultivable four to six months in winter. Landlords share was payable in cash.
The subdivision of which I was put in charge was about 40 miles wide East to West and 100 miles in length North to South. On the West is Suleiman Mountain Range, regularly flooding, locally called “RodhKohi” fast and devastating. Two feet deep of it could throw away a fully loaded jeep, one or two such accidents a year taking place involving an unwary visitor. The southern tip touched or so to say landed in Sui in Baluchistan the source of natural gas, Jacobabad in Sind, reputed to be the hottest station in the country. On the eastern side was, the then huge River Indus, causing no damage to any part of the territory under my charge. Almost every summer or alternate year the river touched the northern tip off my jurisdiction threatening the town of Jampur. Then it was the duty of my staff on the ground to arrange two to four hundred farm labors for doing legwork under the guidance of experts, mostly engineers. Over the years the threats of flooding have been losing strength as has the River Indus.
The staff that was available to assist me in the discharge of my duties was (1) Assistant Superintend of Jails (2) A Senior Resident Magistrate stationed South, forty miles away (3) A Tehsildar having qualifications equal to mine with additional qualities of being a poet and a writer, having appeared in the CSS examination (3) A team led by an agriculture graduate for managing the Dhundi Estate (4) Of greatest help to me was a team of ten to fifteen helpers in the garden.
Visitors – All a Blessing
Unexpectedly and contrary to the advice given, within three months of my taking over charge visit of chief of Leghari tribe, who was also a Minister for Local Bodies took place. The visit was more political and less administrative. Among his staff was a personal assistant who had passed some time in Lucknow. He kept all of us entertained by a fairly accurate description of the culture, peculiarities of behavior and so many things of Lucknow and the area around. Never had I such a consolidated and accurate description heard from one person.
Within next three months of that visit, the Commissioner Multan visited. He had remained Assistant Commissioner Rajanpur. He belonged to ICS batch. In every sense, he was a brilliant officer. With great speed, he established and rehabilitated the Thal area, a desert area in the region of Sargodha. He put Pakistan Airlines at the highest pedestal and also helped in the formation of Alitalia Airlines in Italy. He turned out to be an outstanding businessman when Bonus Voucher Scheme was introduced in the country. He was turned out of service by General Ayub Khan. He had a short discussion with me, no orders, no dictation, no tutoring; leaving me undisturbed, free to try my own worth. How nice of him.
In the next three months, there was a visit by a judge of the High Court. He was then considered to be the best judge on the criminal side of the work, respected, and feared most. As it was not a formal inspection he obtained all his information about my performance from the Bar, the notables, maybe he saw a few judgments, but not to my knowledge. In his report, he ordered the Deputy Commissioner and the Session Judge to move within a month for the conferment of powers under Section 30 Cr.P.C. (power to try all offense except those punishable with death) for the whole district. There was a bit of executive touch in the last sentence “if they do not the Registrar shall himself initiate the case for the conferment of the power.” To this date, I feel the farsightedness and the potential strength of it. It provided me with a strong shield against two of my very important superiors who believed that youth; unless he is a dependable relative, should never be trusted with more powers than what is absolutely necessary.
Initiatives and Reversals
- Silk culture: I felt that the farmers on the estate land needed some incentive, some productive activity in addition to farming. I had seen a bit of research going on in Changa Manga, a forest entertainment, and research area, in the production of silk of the Chinese standard. I contacted the sericulture department of Punjab. They provided me with utmost help and guidance, so much so at the end of two months, two of finest silk thread was produced. The worse part of it all was that the cocoons had to be put in boiling water to get the silk material released. An acquaintance of mine visited China and I asked him whether this process of silk production was shown to him. He said that they paid particular attention to show us all. I asked how did they handle the cocoon in boiling water He said the boiled cocoon were used there as feed or food. I did not dare ask him whether it was for human beings or animals.
With such a success I asked the government department for a few hundred or thousand cuttings of the improved suitable mulberry plant for planting along the canal which was all non-perennial. They were supplied with an invoice of Rs. One Hundred. I was told by the office that my power of sanction was limited to rupees twenty-five only. Out of sheer necessity, I had to ask the Deputy Commissioner for approval and sanction. To my great surprise and shock, he refused. For two days I remained in s shock and depression. I remembered and found how correct was my colleague IJ (See Chapter 4) who told all over the UK that a Deputy Commissioner (DC) was like a king. Another Deputy Commissioner when asked by a contractor how he felt as a DC. His reply was there is God above and on the ground, I am with all the powers. This is what is called aggressive self-projection, and now there is a move to bring back the DC with all his powers and dignity.
My office came to my rescue, and I felt so ashamed of it, not aware of the powers that I was exercising daily, time and again. There was a fund established by the Commissioner who inspected the Sub-Division under my charge and who held this very office a few years ago. It was Farmers’ Welfare Fund established from the share of produce received from the farmers. The DC had absolutely no control or oversight over it. The expenses from it that were taking place under my signature or with my approval. These were (1) purchasing in sufficient quantity anti-snake venom vaccine to deal with snakebite cases, common when the farmers went out to water their cultivation or protect their crop from wild animals. (2) sufficient stipend to students pursuing their education locally or elsewhere (3) cost of medicine or medical treatment of the farmers (4) supporting a cooperative shop for making available to the public items not ordinarily available but necessary for orderly life. (5) any other item for the welfare of the farmers. There was no dearth of funds for these purposes.
I was able to disengage myself by taking refuge in preceding item No. 5. I knew for definite that if any DC did not approve of the project, whether he had the authority or not, no Assistant Commissioner could push it through. The whole scheme was doomed.
2. Cultivation of tobacco
At that time beetroot, sugarcane and tobacco had appeared on the scene as premier cash crops of the district of Mardan. First two required access to mills which were not in sight in Rajanpur. So, I tried tobacco on a small piece of land, approximately one marla. A few weeks after in the club one of the members came forward to tell me that he was tobacco inspector to take note of tobacco cultivation and levy a fee on it. I was surprised because there was no tobacco cultivation in the whole district. I told him that actually, I wanted to know how much a cultivator will have to pay for cultivating tobacco. He did not levy any charge on me but then for certain I knew none of my farmers would ever like to give their neck in the hands of a government official even on thinking of cultivating tobacco. That was the end of the project. But I found that tobacco leaves with copper sulfate “neela thotha” were the best spray for plants, and ashes to take care of all insects on the ground in the root zone.
3. The only Corruption case that I ever got lodged
The manager that I had for assisting me in looking after the estate was qualified, gentle, soft-spoken but limitation or attraction of some kind made him ineffective in ground duties. A complaint in writing came to me that a particular store is showing two thousand kilograms of grain in it but actually not more than two hundred is there. I took the manager with me and went to the store. The complaint was substantially true. A case was lodged by the Manager. The first thing Manager did was to apply for his own bail before arrest. He alleged everything against me except that he could not find out my tribe otherwise in the prevailing culture that would have made irresistible compelling proof our ancestral enmity. I was not called as a witness but the statements made in court and published in all local newspapers was that all officers of the district, all, were fond of getting wheat for all their needs from Dhundi Estate as it was considered to be the best available. Retail sales were not permitted at all from the stores so it must be all gratis. To top it all the Deputy Commissioner asked me to think of making up the loss to the government. As District Magistrate, head of the magistracy he should have seen that the accused, on conviction for the offense should have been burdened with a compensatory fine at least to the extent of the loss. It was at this stage that I decided that I will never lodge a corruption case without knowing the full dimension of it, the depth of the roots, its spread and its strength in all other respects.
4. Local Culture
It was in Rajanpur that I felt the impact of culture on the totality of the life of the people. In the arid area of the subdivision, there was a shrub which produced fruit Pilu which was supposed to serve the male population for all their needs. As at that stage I was not empowered to try cases of ‘honor killing’ I came to know, whatever I know, through the members of the Bar and those associated with criminal administration. It was felt that a man having an enemy will kill his enemy and fatally injure his wife taking up the plea of ‘honor killing’. At that time the sentence awarded was of six months imprisonment. Years later, the High Court in a case observed that it should be at least six years. Honor still remained ascendant, the sentence increased, but from one year to three years. The wife, if she survived, had the only refuge of Tumandars (local tribal head) establishment. She survived but nothing more could be known about her. She obtained lifelong protection against harm from outside.
My orderly (attendant) young in age, about nineteen years, came to me seeking my help. His problem was that someone had promised to give his daughter in marriage to him but he was demanding more money for that. I asked him when he had so promised. He said that when she was in the womb. I asked him how much he had paid at that time. He said, fifty rupees. I never knew such a lottery was permissible under custom. Neither my culture nor my qualification nor training had equipped me to solve such a problem. I said to him go and pay more money.
Rajanpur affairs revisited after twenty years or more
The Magistrate: Posted 40 miles away south was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. Two thieves were caught red-handed elsewhere. They confessed that they had committed the theft to pay to this magistrate for obtaining their own acquittal from him. More such disclosures followed. So the trial, the conviction and the sentence of imprisonment
The Tehsildar While hearing the cases in the High Court with another very senior judge I saw the qualified cultured Tehsildar awaiting hearing of his case. Without looking at the contents of the case I wrote “Not before me” legally termed recuse, means that case was never to be put up before me. I received from him a book of his memoirs, some praise for me but more for others, not mentioning what led to what. He was practicing law.
The Manager of Dhundi Estate: When I had retired, the Manager called on me and told me all about himself, that he was charged for purchasing a lot of property in the name of his kith and kin, called benami purchase. This was in the wake of news then prevailing that perennial water supply would be available and the land value would multiply manifold. He did not say what he wanted me to do. To me, it appeared that he was exploring the possibility of my appearing in his defense to give a clean chit. But this is my guess, nothing more.
The Sessions Judge: A high ranking Police officer told me that he had got the Session Judge arrested and kept him overnight in the police lockup. I asked him why he had done this. He said, the judge, while taking a walk in the evening was in the habit of interrogating people about irrelevant matters. I asked him did you inform or obtain the permission of the DC about it. He said he had.
I was transferred and posted as Assistant Colonization Officer/ Acting colonization officer Havel project Multan.
Six months posting in Multan
My official residence here was a dilapidated evacuee property with no compound but only an enclosure. What alarmed me most was that whenever there was heavy rain, which was infrequent, the water seeped through all the doors of the house. I always thought that someday the whole house will collapse. It was located in a prestigious area close to the upcoming Nishtar Hospital, on a road on which most of the official residences were located.
My earlier predecessor was a very competent officer. He died prematurely. He had fixed three days of the week, from Monday to Wednesday for remaining out, which he observed with regularity, to make up the requirement of remaining out for twelve nights a month, a mandatory requirement of all executive field officers.
My jurisdiction extended to portions of three districts, Multan headquarter, Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) and Muzaffargarh. The selected areas were colonized portions, waterlogged areas, and evacuee properties within these areas. The other part of my duties was office management and court work. My earlier predecessor had devised a factual chart, to be prepared by the office, which made the decision of a case only two question work, hardly ten minutes. That served me well as a Deputy Rehabilitation Commissioner/ Deputy Commissioner Bahawalpur and also when as a District and Sessions judge Peshawar I was empowered to be Settlement Commissioner competent to hear Revision petition, over four hundred of them transferred to my file. I was entrusted with over four hundred settlement cases with instructions that not more than twenty cases should be dealt with each month without neglecting our main duties. In a month I disposed of over one hundred such cases reducing my main work disposal from 60 to 50 units for that month. Promptly the High Court called my explanation for exceeding the limit and reducing the unit. As it was the second time that my explanation was called there I refused to give any. I maintained my right to keep my house clean and proper, without interference even from the High Court.
Multan was a different place altogether. Seraiki their language, soft, low, rhythmic and pleasing to hear and speak. It was mostly feudal area and then feudal were known to be land rich and money poor. They were for that reason fast switching to orchards followed by floriculture getting national recognition for these products. Finally, now the farmland is being devoured by urban extensions. I understand from the newspapers that India is proposing a law to restrict the use of purchased land to the same use to which it was put before the purchase. Let us watch what becomes of it.
I remember as an adolescent that a number of known religious scholars from Lucknow and around used to come to Punjab during Muharram for a month or two to give sermons and return with good Basmati rice and small quantities of dry fruits. The best rice then available in India was known as Dehra Dun which lacked aroma so distinct in Basmati. Their sermons in Urdu and attended by the whole family added greater finesse to at least the spoken part of Urdu.
At that time two incidents came to my notice which greatly depressed and saddened me.
The first occurred in Toba Tek Singh, adjacent to my jurisdiction, waterlogged area of Pir Mahal. A boy for some fault of his, right or wrong, was asked to walk throughout the town with his nose pierced and a rope hanging like that of a camel. The other finds mention in MAK Chaudhry book “Of those Years”. He was SP Multan then. A must-read book for all those who want to know all about police. On page103 he mentions the case as follows:
“A big zamindar, Pir Naubahar Shah, who was angry with a poor woman from his village because she had run away with a man from the estate of a rival Zamindar. He had her abducted, tied to a stake in the middle of the village square, and he had ordered the villagers to spit on her as they passed by.”
Things move fast in the country, acid throwing on the slightest pretext, became the order of the day, and shockingly this was being done even by the educated and well-placed people. We earned an international status in this field by Oscar Award to Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and establishment of R5 Foundation with Dr. Jawad in the lead.
Multan is historically known to be center of learning, mosques, and dargahs. It kept on improving and flourishing. Six months of posting was not a long period. It passed in no time. I received orders for my promotion and posting as Deputy Commissioner Bahawalpur.
Experiences of a Lifetime 